Mr. Watts wrote a guest editorial in the Hot Springs Star of May 20, which prompts me to comment on some issues he raised. In particular, he was disgruntled with the Hot Springs School Board policy which requires students who wish to participate in school sports to take a class.

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Because we understand that this is a privilege, not a right. It can be revoked at any time. We didn’t want to ruin it for ourselves, or other home schoolers who may follow. When we made the decision to home school, we took the responsibility for our children’s education. We realized there were privileges they would be denied because of this choice. Mr. Watts made the statement that he didn’t feel it is right to hold these programs ransom for financial gain. …

This is in response to the John and Tracy Romey guest editorial in last week’s paper. Their point was that home school participation in public school isn’t a right, but a privilege. I agree that it’s a privilege, but I believe with all my heart that it’s our right also. I’ve placed the property tax statement for our home in this paper to illustrate that point.

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We circulated a petition, requesting the school board allow home-school students to participate without having to attend classes. We collected 353 signatures with little effort. A couple thousand could have easily been obtained; 95 percent of people approached were willing to sign.

The previous city council and our past/present mayor signed this petition. Is it just me or does it speak volumes that they all agreed on something?